"Damn it... Disciple, go capture that little beast, dead or alive." The Ghost Controlling King dodged Da Hei's attack while ordering his disciple, Zhang Fan.
"Understood, Master." With the Ghost Controlling King's approval, Zhang Fan felt his leg injury improve significantly. Coupled with the spiritual medicine his master applied, he could walk, albeit with a limp. However, summoning two fierce ghosts to carry him, his speed was exceptionally fast.
Although I had a head start, my soul had left my body, and my soul lacked any ghostly energy. Therefore, my running speed was no different from an ordinary person.
Before long, Zhang Fan caught up. However, he didn't rush to attack. Instead, he let out a strange caw, mocking me from a short distance behind.
"Kid, I'll give you a few more minutes to run. If you get caught later, I'll make you bask in the sun for a full hundred and eighty days, so you know how formidable I am."
Damn it, a hundred and eighty days under the sun? I'd turn into smoke and die after just a short while. A hundred and eighty days? Do they think I'm some brand of soy sauce? It was impossible to retort now, so I could only curse his entire family in my heart and focus all my energy on running for my life.
When my soul returns to my body, I'll see how I deal with you, you crippled little turtle.
Zhang Fan cursed me for over ten sentences. Seeing that I remained silent and ignored him, he seemed to sense something was wrong. He began urging the two evil spirits carrying him, preparing to intercept me.
At this moment, I also saw flashlight beams ahead. My heart leaped with joy. It must be Zhang Dabiao carrying my physical body over. This made me run forward even more frantically.
"Not good, this kid has reinforcements." The flashlight beams also attracted Zhang Fan's attention. He directly ordered the two fierce ghosts to put him down and chase after me.
Without Zhang Fan, the "burden," the two fierce ghosts soared into the air like flying birds. In an instant, they appeared behind me. The dark, cold, and bloody ghostly energy sent my hair on end.
They let out a ghostly howl, and their four ghostly claws, like twenty long swords, plunged towards my back. Before the attack even landed, the chilling ghostly energy made my back feel cold. Just as I realized I couldn't dodge, Zhang Dabiao's face suddenly appeared.
Immediately after, I felt as if my body had entered a vortex. Then, my vision went black. When I opened my eyes again, I was already back in my physical body, hearing Zhang Dabiao's angry shouts and the sounds of ghostly howls.
I felt my body. Apart from some stiffness, there were no other discomforts. It was likely due to my soul being separated from my body for too long, causing poor blood circulation.
Closing my eyes, I circulated the "Tiangang Jue" for one cycle, and the symptoms immediately disappeared. I threw off the blanket wrapped around me and saw my backpack and the Yin Tie wooden ruler placed beside it.
Grabbing the Yin Tie wooden ruler, I chuckled. You crippled little turtle egg, weren't you chasing me so fiercely just now? Now let's see how I deal with you.
"Brother Zhang, you deal with the two fierce ghosts. I'll go deal with that crippled little turtle egg."
"No problem, just be careful." Seeing me wake up, Zhang Dabiao changed his defensive stance. He wielded his Mountain Splitting Saber with broad, sweeping movements. After just two exchanges, one fierce ghost was already dispersed by his saber, and it was only a matter of time before the other met its demise.
Zhang Fan was stunned at first. Seeing me charge towards him, the corner of his mouth twitched, and he mocked, "Do you really think I have no way to deal with you?" With that, he unhurriedly took out the Soul Controlling Bell and gave it a soft jingle. A wisp of gray smoke emerged from the bell, instantly transforming into a male ghost wearing a gray robe, holding a ghost-faced fan, and blocking Zhang Fan.
This made me stop in my tracks, my brows furrowed. The robed male ghost before me was clearly different from ordinary ghosts, as he did not exhibit any ghostly energy. If I hadn't seen him emerge from the bell with my own eyes, I would have mistaken him for a living person, not a ghost.
After the appearance of the robed male ghost, Zhang Fan's expression clearly relaxed. "Ghost Scholar, kill this brat. Do you want to eat him raw, or take him back to savor slowly?"
"Hmm! Not bad, this is good ingredient." The scholar licked his pale lips, closed the ghost-faced fan in his hand, and with a swish, he vanished.
This startled me. The speed of this Ghost Scholar was incredible. Suddenly, I felt a fierce wind from my right and instinctively swung the Yin Tie wooden ruler.
With a clang, it collided directly with the ghost-faced fan. Although I blocked the Ghost Scholar's attack, it still sent a cold sweat down my spine. His appearance speed was simply too fast. If I hadn't been empowered by the Tian Qiao Seal, I would have been seriously injured, if not killed, by this blow.
After several consecutive attacks were blocked by me, the Ghost Scholar's expression became somewhat strained. Zhang Fan on the side even urged him to hurry, worried that his master wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer if he was injured.
"You can actually block my multiple attacks. It seems I can't play with you anymore. Let me show you my ultimate move – Eight Directions Rain." With a furious roar, his body dispersed slowly before my eyes like mist. As he dissipated, I raised my spiritual sense to its maximum, trying to pinpoint the direction of the attack.
Front, left, behind... Just as the Ghost Scholar said, ghostly energy was blowing from every direction. Every time I swung the Yin Tie wooden ruler, it passed through empty air.
Instead, the Ghost Scholar's ghost-faced fan left a few shallow wounds on my body.
It seems I have no choice but to use my Ghost Eyes. After missing again, I quietly activated my Ghost Eyes.
Instantly, the world before my eyes changed color. I saw the Ghost Scholar continuously fanning ghostly energy towards me with his ghost-faced fan, and he would occasionally direct the ghostly energy to attack me. No wonder I couldn't hit him; he was actually playing a long-range manipulation game with me. This was utterly infuriating.
I wildly swung the Yin Tie wooden ruler in my hand, shouting loudly, "You cowardly wretch, attacking from the shadows! What kind of skill is that? Come out if you dare, and let's fight face to face."
Before the Ghost Scholar could speak, Zhang Fan on the side chuckled and said, "Don't you know about cats and mice?"
"Mouse your dog head! I'll make you scurry like a rat later."
"Heh heh... I'll be waiting for you."
I sneered and stopped talking, instead focusing all my attention on the Ghost Scholar. You damned ghost, if I don't kill you today, my surname isn't mine.
I pretended to be disoriented by his "Eight Directions Rain," wildly slashing the Yin Tie wooden ruler in my hand and shouting, "Come on, I'm not afraid of you!"
In reality, I was constantly tracking his movements. As expected, my "feigned madness" made the Ghost Scholar believe he had the upper hand. After fanning his ghost-faced fan a couple more times, he sent a wave of ghostly energy towards me.
"Heaven and Earth are clear, eternal existence, Tian Tui Seal..."
Chanting the incantation, I imbued the Tian Tui Seal onto the Yin Tie wooden ruler. Instantly, a golden halo enveloped the dark Yin Tie wooden ruler, appearing exceptionally striking in the night.
At this moment, the Ghost Scholar had also rushed in front of me. Seeing the weapon in my hand suddenly emit golden light, he sensed something was wrong, but it was only a premonition. Ghostly energy was generally invisible to ordinary people, and even cultivators needed to open their Yin-Yang eyes to perceive its existence.
"Brat, die!" As I turned to block a ghostly energy attack from behind, the Ghost Scholar appeared behind me, wielding his ghost-faced fan and smashing it towards my back.
I fiercely turned back, giving him a big smile, and retorted, "Go to hell!"
Injecting the Xuan Yang True Qi into the Yin Tie wooden ruler, the ruler, now imbued with the Tian Tui Seal, shone brightly, like a golden baseball bat.
*Bang—*
"Ah... You tricked..."
The Yin Tie wooden ruler, infused with the Tian Tui Seal, had its hardness increased by a notch. Moreover, Yang energy inherently countered ghostly energy. The moment they collided, the ghost-faced fan was shattered, and the wooden ruler naturally smashed hard into the Ghost Scholar's face.
He flew through the air like a baseball, tracing a perfect parabola before landing at Zhang Fan's feet.
"Save... save... me..." Before he could finish a complete sentence, he vanished into thin air.
Seeing this, Zhang Fan panicked. The Ghost Scholar was his trump card. The other ghosts in his possession were merely fierce ghosts, incapable of standing up to a real fight.
With his greatest trump card gone, Zhang Fan's only thought was to run, to reach his master. Only then could he survive. Zhang Fan summoned two fierce ghosts and bolted. He hadn't run far before he was lifted into the air by nothing.
"Ah, my legs..."
Zhang Dabiao, with a blade of grass in his mouth and carrying his Mountain Splitting Saber, emerged from the darkness like an ancient swordsman.
"Kid, where do you think you're going?"